“BHP Billiton has a deplorable record of environmental offending and the time must come where the state government finds that it is not a fit and proper person to hold a mining planning approval in NSW,” Mr Rush said after the Environment Protection Authority on Wednesday announced a $15,000 Mount Arthur fine for dust pollution.

“Despite everything the state government says, the truth of the matter is that the government’s laws do not protect communities. When a fine of $15,000 applies for a breach of a condition designed to protect human health, the only penalty that will make BHP Billiton sit up and listen is a withdrawal of the right to mine.

“There are many responsible mine companies out there. BHP Billiton is not one of them. It’s time a responsible mining company took over the operation.”

The EPA gave little detail of the incident which occurred in late 2017 after a witness complained of excess mine dust blowing across a public road near the Muswellbrook mine.

EPA Hunter director Karen Marler said the witness provided photographs of the incident.

“Mines must not be complacent about managing dust from their activities. All mines are required to apply best practice dust controls and minimise dust generation at all times. If they aren’t doing so, they face regulatory action from the EPA,” Ms Marler said.

The dust incident is the latest in a string of penalties, warnings, approval non-compliances and incidents at the mine which is one of the biggest open cut coal mines in the state. It has six open cut pits supplying 16.77 million tonnes of coal to the Port of Newcastle for export in 2016/17 and 1.4 million tonnes to Bayswater power station via overland conveyor. The mine produced more than 100 million tonnes of overburden during that period. It employs more than 1000 mine workers and contractors.

In September 2012 there was public controversy after the Department of Planning issued the company with a warning letter after a serious dust incident when spoil was dumped on the highest mine dump site during windy conditions. BHP made $14.7 billion profit during the same period and its most senior executive earnt $9.5 million.

The mine was fined $1500 and the EPA and Department of Planning were heavily criticised in October 2013 after two blast incidents one week apart left Camberwell with “hazardous” air quality on the second occasion. Health warnings were issued for asthmatics, the elderly and children.

The mine blasted explosives left in the ground for too long on October 10, 2013, and despite complaints from the public about the blast emissions, Mount Arthur repeated the incident on October 17.

The company was prosecuted the following year after another blast incident on February 19, 2014, involving explosives left in the ground for too long, affected 14 people in a Muswellbrook industrial estate.

In July 2015 BHP paid more than $100,000 in penalties and legal costs after it pleaded guilty to an offence under Protection of the Environment Operations Act. The company told the Land and Environment Court the 2014 blast incident was “foreseeable and foreseen”.

In an environmental audit dated June, 2017 Mount Arthur said it recovered 171,560 cubic metres of topsoil from 72.5 hectares of land clearing ahead of mining in the previous year. Another 275,000 cubic metres was relocated from existing stockpiles.

During the year to June, 2017 the company received 14 noise complaints, which was “significantly lower” than 69 complaints in the previous year, but higher than five complaints in 2015.

In the 12 months there were 139 blasts and 16 complaints, which was more than 13 complaints in the previous year, and less than 35 blast complaints in 2015.

The audit noted 27 dust-related complaints which was similar to 26 complaints in 2016 but higher than seven complaints in 2015.

The audit noted one dam overflow incident in the year to June, 2017 and two pipeline failures leading to water from the mine flowing from the Mount Arthur site to public roads and then to mine-owned land.

Mount Arthur said it reported each overflow incident to the EPA and took action after investigating the matters.

In one incident mine water flowed for about 16 hours until an open valve was identified, and in another incident 20,000 litres of mine water flowed through a culvert beneath Denman Road onto mine-owned land beyond the main Mount Arthur site.

In August Muswellbrook Council launched legal action against BHP and the Department of Planning to enforce mine rehabilitation consent conditions.

Ms Marler said the EPA will “monitor this mine to check that it is using appropriate dust control measures”.